Russia will counter US missile shield - President Medvedev

Russia will continue with the overhaul of its missile defense unless the United States drops its plans for a European missile shield or proposes a scheme for a joint effort, the Russian president said on Tuesday, RIA Novosti reports.

“This does not mean the beginning of confrontation, but it means that we cannot treat their plans indifferently, since it concerns our strategic interests,” President Medvedev said.

Russia-NATO missile defense talks have stalled as Moscow seeks legally binding guarantees that the U.S.-backed European missile defense program will not be directed against it.

Washington, however, refuses to provide written guarantees, saying the shield is not directed against Russia but rather such states as Iran and North Korea.